Jump to content

MARGUS and Peko excelling on new teams


High School Harry

Recommended Posts

http://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2017/09/21/former-bengals-margus-hunt-and-domata-peko-shining-with-new-teams/

 

Remember Margus Hunt and Domata Peko?

Cincinnati Bengals fans know the drill. Hunt never showed much of anything outside of preseason flashes over the course of his time with the team despite eye-catching upside. Peko remained a key leader in the locker room, yet his run-stuffing prowess faded as he aged.

Now both look good in new locales.

For Hunt, said locale is with the Indianapolis Colts. He’s taking snaps as a 4-3 defensive end and doing quite well so far, as Matt Whitson noted:

Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes for a player to find a role suitable to his talents.

As for Peko, he’s a rotational player with the Denver Broncos. Like Hunt, he’s seeing notable early production in his new home, as Brian Baldinger noted:

 

 

Peko’s opponents such as Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy have even taken notice, per Zac Stevens:

Bengals fans reading this probably have a couple things going on right about now: their jaw is hanging opening and they’re wondering what in the world is going on.

Fair enough question. With Peko the answer is simple—he’s being used in a rotation on one of the best defenses in the league. Cincinnati also has a great defense, but the great differential here is Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis trying to use him more than he can handle at his current age.

Peko excels as a run-stuffing role player. The Bengals aren’t hurting without him, though, provided Pat Sims can keep doing the same thing well and Andrew Billings keeps developing. Rookie Ryan Glasgow is an interesting name to keep tabs on as well given his lack of a defined role.

 

 

Hunt is a different conversation entirely. New coaching, scheme and responsibilities play a role in this unexpected development. He’s playing about 50 percent of the snaps right now and his borderline 300-pound frame is holding up well enough.

It just didn’t work in Cincinnati and Hunt’s departure has left the Bengals much better off. This past offseason, the coaches stopped prioritizing guys with Hunt’s frame (6’8″) and went after speed, trading for Chris Smith and drafting both Jordan Willis and Carl Lawson.

So while it is easy to find frustration in seeing former Bengals go on to have success, it’s like watching Rex Burkhead excel with the New England Patriots—the team has new faces like Joe Mixon ready to make old faces easy to forget.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This story makes it sound like Peko was stinking it up here.  That just is not true.  He did not get a "scrub contract" from the Broncos.  He got $7.5million for 2 years.

 

Coaches have always seen the value that fans missed.  He was among the league leaders for tackles by an interior lineman, but the only thing some fans value is sacks.

 

Remember when so many fans here claimed Justin Smith was garbage?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/23/2017 at 1:29 PM, GoBengals said:

local radio gushes over Peko, players love him, coaches love him, they talk about his ability to move linemen and make the linebacksers jobs easier.. 

 

He got his kid a skateboard from my friend's shop, dude is a huge Bengals fan & Peko was happy to sign a bunch of shit & take photos with all the people coming through.  Seemed like a real cool guy.

 

That being said, I don't think we're missing him even though I often wondered what the people bitching about him were looking at.  That's the biz.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, fredtoast said:

This story makes it sound like Peko was stinking it up here.  That just is not true.  He did not get a "scrub contract" from the Broncos.  He got $7.5million for 2 years.

 

Coaches have always seen the value that fans missed.  He was among the league leaders for tackles by an interior lineman, but the only thing some fans value is sacks.

 

Remember when so many fans here claimed Justin Smith was garbage?

As far as Bengal to 49ers, how about Ahmad Brooks?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know Peko had more than his share of detractors on this board. I haven't been posting long but I've been reading for years. He was often the topic of disdain here. I always kind of liked him and thought he was good at what he did - eat up blockers to let the linebackers make plays. He made his own plays now and then but not a lot of highlight reel stuff. Not to mention a good locker room presence. Oh well - he's probably the only guy I like on the Broncos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...